Always and Forever
by ANIMElove737
Summary: "I don't want to lose you to that world...stay with me and be my totem." Always and Forever. Rated T for almost-rape, slight violence, and language. ArthurXAriadne


**So I decided to just update everything in one go, considering my PC blocked FanFiction AND deviantART...I don't know when I'll be able to update again, so I'm hoping that I'm making up for lost time by putting up lots of new stuff!**

**I finally got around to writing an Inception fic (Arthur and Ariadne-based, of course). Rated T for almost-rape, slight violence, and some language...**

**STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY**

**DO NOT COPY OR REDISTRIBUTE WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM ME FIRST!**

The cloth bag was lifted from his head to reveal a dark room. It was so pitch black, even he, who had been trained for such situations, could not thoroughly decipher where he was. How did he end up in this room? Where was the rest of the team?

'_Ariadne_,' he thought, his mind snapping from pure curiosity to panic as he struggled against his bonds. He remembered now:

They had been on a brief extraction mission inside the mind of one of the most powerful men in the corporate world. Arthur distinctly remembered doing thorough background checks on this guy, but his research hadn't suggested anything about the man's mind being trained to handle the tasks of their mission! It was like the Fischer job all over again, dammit, and Cobb was more than a little pissed off that he had screwed up again.

Luckily for them they weren't as heavily sedated as they had been when they had to perform the inception on Robert Fischer, or both Saito and Yusuf would have been trapped in Limbo right now.**  
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>After making sure that the chemist and the Japanese money-man were safely deposited back to reality, the four dreamers left battled it out with their mark's subconscious, gunfire and grenade explosions becoming a warring medly as they finally managed to hold them off long enough to escape to an abandoned warehouse.<p>

Cobb was furious with both Arthur and Ariadne, and he had no problem broadcasting his anger directly to their faces when they were positive they were alone. Eames watched in mild fascination as their fearless leader tore Arthur a new one for not figuring out about the trained projections sooner, then rounded on Ariadne for making the maze too simple that even said projections could figure it out.

"Hey, relax, will you? It's not her fault that the man's subconscious is prepared for an assault like this," Arthur stated calmly, calculating, brown eyes never leaving Cobb as he stepped in front of afformentioned architect. He didn't notice the smile of approval thrown his way from the girl at his standing up for her.

The man he was addressing's blue eyes widened, then narrowed accusingly. "She's the architect. She should have prepared a maze that was challenging even for a _smart_projection!"

If he were an animal, he'd be growling at the moment, but since he wasn't one, he settled for grinding his teeth and breathing in deeply through his nose. "Losing your temper and blaming innocent people isn't a good way to handle this situation. Now, I suggest that we-"

He was cut off as an explosion sounded from behind him, effectively knocking every particiant in the room onto their asses and causing explatives to ring out through the echoing sound of the blast. As he was thrown to the side, Arthur felt slender fingers dig into his arm and he knew that Ariadne was right beside him, clutching him fearfully. Reaching out and grabbing hold of her around the waist, he pulled them both to a standing position just as darkness overtook him by means of a blow to the back of the head.

Now here he was, bound and gagged, forced onto his knees in a dark room; if he hadn't remembered that he was in a dream, he would have actually been quite terrified. Somewhat.

Struggling even more, he rummaged and clamoured about until his larger, calloused hand brushed the smaller, more delicate hand of a woman.

"Ariadne?" he managed to mumble through his gag, and he felt the hand he was touching wrap around his fingers in response. Sighing with relief, he turned himself around so he was facing her, tamping down the blush that threatened to show on his features as she pressed herself into his chest. Cursing the fact that his hands were bound and he couldn't encircle her in a secure embrace, Arthur brought his head up and scanned the room as if he would magically be able to see all of the sudden and find a way to escape.

It was as if the heavens were listening to his silent prayers, because in the next moment, light was brought to the room, shrouding it in brightness and illuminating the features of the room. A man was standing a few feet away from them, surrounded by men holding guns pointed in their direction, and Arthur assumed that they were in a parking garage of some sort. He felt Ariadne shiver and moved in front of her small frame, eyebrows pinched downward in what was considered a gaze full of rage, but to anyone else, he just looked slightly upset.

"Well, isn't that just adorable? True love, boys; ain't it cute?" the man in the middle of the mob of gentlemen with guns queried, clasping his hands together with faux romanticism. "It's so sweet, it makes my teeth ache!" Flicking cold, emotionless, gray eyes in their direction, Arthur noticed something he hadn't at first glance; this man was their mark's father! Though, he seemed slightly different than the men around him. Was he just a projection, or...or was he real? "I can see the emotions running rampant through your mind right now, you know," the man continued, gesturing toward them with a snap of his wrist. Another man came from behind the group, and Arthur flinched. For some reason, the burly man was dressed in a tight-fitting pair of jeans and a tank top, make-up smeared across his face and a perverted smile spreading to his lips.

'_Probably a projection of our mark's feminine side_,' Arthur thought as the man slid behind him, yanking him to a standing position.

"Don't worry, sexy. I'll take good care of you," he whispered, licking Arthur's ear, and if his mouth hadn't been full, it would have flown open with a sharp retort.

Not giving them the satisfaction of watching him squirm, he stood up straighter and squared his shoulders as he was led to the man now standing in the middle of the room. As he was brought to his knees once more, he felt his head being snapped back by a hand grasping his hair and yanking. "I can tell by your eyes. You may have the whole stoic motif down to an art, but the emotions flitting through your eyes give you away." Gesturing to the feminine man behind Arthur, the point-man was once again thrown down beside Ariadne, where he proceeded to scramble beside her and shelter her from the men's randy gazes. "Tell me who your employer is, and where your leader is hiding right now."

The demand did not register at first as Arthur scanned Ariadne's body to make certain that she hadn't been harmed while he had been away from her. When his brain finally made the connection, his deep, brown eyes defiantly raised to meet the gray ones of their interrogater. He shook his head slowly in a subtle yet sharp way of expressing that he wasn't going to reveal anything, even as they ripped the gag from between his lips.

Sighing, the older man rolled his eyes and gestured to the feminine man again. Once more, Arthur found himself being thrown around like a limp pile of bones. Once he was restrained by two men holding him to his knees by his arms, the man with the gray eyes walked forward. "Your defiance...just might cost you your life."

After an hour of being tossed around without saying a word, Arthur was finally able to speak. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" Despite having had a gag choking him half to death for the past hour, his voice came out rather calm and collected. "You really think killing me will give you the answers you need?" Smirking, he shot a glance at Ariadne, who was smirking through her [demeaning] muzzle as well. "There's no use killing me in a dream; all it will do is wake me up."

The man's eyes widened. "Dulely noted, but I wasn't planning on killing you." Snapping his fingers, all Arthur could do was flinch before he felt the knife enter his body through his side. Crying out in surprise, then shouting in pure pain as the sharp object was twisted into his skin, he closed his eyes and willed himself to stay strong for Ariadne's sake. "You're a brave one...but how will you react when your partner's wellbeing is threatened?"

He tried to speak, but all he could feel was pain as the knife sunk deeper. Dammit, did it hurt! This was his dream, so of course it was going to hurt much more than if he wasn't the dreamer. His thoughts about his own pain were thrown out the window when he saw men moving menicingly in Ariadne's direction. "No! Leave her alone!"

"Ah...I see we've found your weakness..." As the men circled, then de-muzzled the beautiful young woman, Arthur's struggling increased tenfold, accidentally sinking the knife deeper into his side. "I wonder what your reaction would be if we were to defile her lovely body in front of you."

Again, Arthur shouted when the knife was removed from his body with a sickening pinch. "Don't you touch her, dammit!" Ariadne showed no emotion as she was thrown forward onto her stomach, and she did no more than squeeze her eyes shut as her jeans were roughly ripped from her person. "Stop! Get your grubby hands off of her, you jackasses!" Throwing himself from side to side in a mad attempt to loosen their grip on him, he attempted to avert his eyes to preserve her decency when they tore her underwear down.

"Oh, no...I want you to _watch_," the gray-eyed man dictated, yanking Arthur's head back so he was facing Ariadne and the men again.

Shaking his head frantically to free his head, his eyes widened when Ariadne was forced onto her back in front of him, completely exposed to his unwilling gaze. There was a stubborn glare in her light brown eyes, like she was trying to seem unphased by her sudden position. "Don't tell them anything, Arthur...there's no need."

"No need? Don't tell me there's no _fucking_need! Keep your filthy hands to yourself!" He was acting uncharacteristically, he knew, but he didn't want her innocence soiled by these dream projections. "I'll tell you everything you need to know..." he began, addressing the man, now, "...just...let her go."

The man considered him for a moment before nodding to the feminine projection, who then proceeded to untie Ariadne, simultaneously yanking her pants haphazardly up around her waist. He picked her up bridal style, walking slowly over to what Arthur deduced was the exit, then deposited her on the outside.

"Arthur! Arthur, don't tell them any-" she was cut off as the door slammed in her face.

He flexed his jaw as the men all turned their attention back to him. Biting his tongue to keep from letting loose a profanity as they lifted him to his feet, causing the wound in his side to sting in protest, he just barely was able to remain conscious as they all but dragged him across the floor.

"You're in all kinds of pain right now...how are you able to stand it?" The man who was not a projection grabbed hold of Arthur's throat, applying just enough pressure so that he could barely breathe. "Tell me...why are you trying to extract information from my son's subconscious?"

Taking a deep breath through his nose, Arthur mustered up enough strength to smirk arrogantly at seeing a shadow flit across the room. "What good will it do you if I tell you?" He ground his teeth together as the pressure on his vocal chords increased a bit. "Is it because you wanted to do it yourself? You want to break down your own son's business and feed off of his lost success like a parasite." The hand on his throat stiffened, and he knew he was right on the money with his guess. "I'm right, aren't I? You can't stand the thought of him being more successful than you."

"Shut up!" Arthur rather heard the smack to his face before feeling it. As the man's hand retracted back from his face, the sound of the impact echoing throughout the garage, nobody but Arthur noticed the sound of a glass window being slid open just enough for a petite figure to squeeze through. "You're such an arrogant bastard! A correct arrogant bastard, but an arrogant bastard nonetheless." Arthur wasn't expecting the smile that formed on the man's face, so what he said next was even more of a surprise. "You're right. I hate the fact that my own flesh and blood is making money off of what should be MY success! I'm the one who taught him everything he knows, and I don't even get a lick of credit.

"My son is ungrateful and deserves what's coming to him, and I can't have ANYBODY else taking credit for extracting information that is rightfully MINE!" His grip tightened, and Arthur's vision started to blur. "So, tell me: who are you working for?"

"Fat chance of getting anything out of him!" a voice rang out throughout the room, and Arthur smirked. "Arthur's kinda known for being a stubborn hard-head." With those words spoken, Ariadne appeared in the rafters above, hands clasped around a loose cable wire. "Sorry, but I don't think any extracting will be done today!" A final nod was given to Arthur before they both sprang into action; Ariadne jumped from the rafters, swinging down on the cable wire like Tarzan and landing on two men who were pointing guns at her, while Arthur shoved his entire body weight backwards, causing the men who were holding him to topple and fall to the ground in an unceremonious heap.

As soon as he was standing upright again, he ran to where Ariadne was hiding behind a random, and conveniently placed, car parked a little ways away. "Ariadne!" he hissed, dropping to his knees beside her. She smiled, jumping up to wrap her arms around his neck and bring him close. He sighed happily, then his face turned hard in determination as he pulled back, brown eyes scanning her body for injuries. "Are you alright? That stunt didn't cause you any harm, did it?"

The young woman laughed softly and shook her head, simultaneously pulling his binds loose so he could wriggle free. "I'm fine, but you, on the other hand..." Her eyes misted over with unshed tears as her fingers grazed the wound in his side. "God, that must have hurt..." she breathed, staring at her blood-covered fingers like it pained her.

He shook his head. In all honesty, it only hurt the first time. Then the numbness kicked in when her life was being threatened. "It's fine...just a dream..." The sound of gunshots brought them out of their conversation, and Ariadne's eyes reflected her panic. "Calm down. You know what we have to do."

Her eyes widened. "But...Arthur...the mission..."

"Ariadne, forget the mission. Your safety is top priority right now." Sighing, he combed his fingers through his messy hair. "If I die, the dream will collapse. The mission will be terminated, and Cobb and Eames will have no choice but to wake up. If we do this correctly, we should be able to wake up before that man does..."

"That man isn't a projection?"

A shake of the head. "No. He must've snuck into the hospital room our mark was staying in and hooked himself up...but if we wake up now without him knowing, we'll be able to catch him just as he's waking up and cuff him." Ariadne smirked; oh, how she lived for the thrill of these situations.

"Sounds like a plan..." She paused, groping around in the semi-darkness for something. After making a cute little noise that sounded suspiciously like, "Eureka!" she produced two sharp shards of glass that had been blown from the car's windows during the hailstorm of bullets from the opposing side. "Here; we'd better do this fast." Taking in a deep, shakey breath, she grabbed hold of the pointed implement between trembling hands and directed the sharper end at her chest. "Well...see you on the other side..." And the glass sunk in.

Arthur resisted the urge to cry out when she fearlessly plunged the make-shift weapon into her body with a sickening yelp. No matter how many times they had had to perform this maneuver so cleverly named "Plan B", he still could not get used to watching her kill herself. Shaking his head to rid himself of the troublesome thoughts, he positioned his shard of glass at his chest-over his heart-and took in a deep breath.

"See you on the other side..." he muttered before stabbing himself.

Once back in the world of the awake, Arthur immediately stood and yanked the needle from his wrist. Turning to where 'Nurse Ariadne' was lying, he saw her face pale as she attempted to extract the lead from the vein in her wrist. Quickly moving to assist her, he was not surprised when he heard Cobb and Eames stir from behind him. Another sound accompanied theirs, and he knew that their mark's father was waking. Before one could say 'point man', Arthur was beside him, the barrel of his gun pressed to his temple and a look on his face that clearly stated, 'Try anything funny, and I will not hesitate in blowing your brains out all over your son's hospital bed.'

In a short while, the 'evil, dream crashing knob knocker', as Eames so tactfully called him, was carted off in the back of a police car. Of course, when Dom explained the attempted theft of their target's thoughts, he cleverly left out the part about how they were employed to do so in the first place.

Arthur smirked; another extraction gone by without them getting arrested. Pouring himself an espresso from the machine set up in the hospital's lobby, he sipped it slowly whilst making his way over to where Ariadne was sitting in one of the plastic, waiting room chairs. Noticing her shaking, he grabbed onto one of her hands and gently traced her knuckles. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked softly, allowing her a sip of his coffee.

She sighed. "It's just...I know we're just dreaming and all, but when I have to resort to killing myself in sticky situations...I don't know, I guess I'm still just a little bit frazzled, is all." He made a knowing sound from deep within his throat and nodded.

"It takes some getting used to; I'll admit, I'm still not entirely used to it. Just remember: the sooner you get out, the sooner we get to see each other." Smiling in that uncharactetistic way saved solely for her, he leaned in and kissed her on the temple. "I don't want to lose you to that world...stay with me and be my totem..."

Ariadne smiled and nodded. "Always and forever."

**It was very minimally edited, I know, and there were probably some mistakes I didn't catch, but I sent this from my iPod, so there was really nothing I could do about it! Please review! It will make my day if you do!**


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